Magnolia trees are blossoming everywhere at the moment. It is a joy to see them every spring. I chose to do a very strong coloured background to give more depth to the picture.These flowers are very solid looking and they last for a long time for our greater pleasure. They are supposed to have a lemony scent but when you approach them, it is not really what comes first….

Just a few bits and pieces from the kitchen and my lovely little ceramic bird which is called an ocarina with which you can play tunes (hence the holes). I set this still life on a kitchen towel next to the window for maximum light.I showed my painting to Marina Kulik who is the watercolour teacher at the Hangar art centre (near Grasse) and she advised me to put more purple colours into the shadows for a greater impact and the result is that the objects certainly stand out…..Very effective… Thanks Marina !

White blossoms have always had a magical appeal, so pure and so fragile at the same time. White blossoms don’t stay long and we have to make the most of them while they last. I had fun using warm colours to give the impression of first warm sun rays and a feeling of glorious days to come.The leaves appeared as negative shapes which I transformed into plausible features in this painting.

Last weekend we were in Paris. We went to the Palais Chaillot opposite the Eiffel tower to see an exhibition about Art Nouveau, but when we got there, we were told that the exhibition had been on 3 years ago…Big disappointment…. as on the internet the year of the advertised exhibition was not mentioned ! So as we were there, standing in front of ” la Cité de l’Architecture “, we got in to discover an amazing building with high ceilings and a fantastic view of the Eiffel tower.The figure standing in the foreground is me looking out of the window and admiring the amazing view well worth the trouble of getting to the wrong exhibition ! Plus the reflected light from the windows made an interesting subject for the painting.What you see on the walls and the right hand side are replica of pieces of masonry made of plaster.

A very classical theme done in a modern style . I was inspired by the picture taken of a still life set up at the Hangar art centre (near Grasse) by Pim the art teacher. It was originally destined to be used during a drawing class. I approached it as a set of objects with bright and transparent colours. The light shining through was the real subject for me.